1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for securing a wire to a substrate, particularly for hanging various objects like tubes, cables, or suspended ceilings.
2. Description of Related Art
Several methods have been used, with varying degrees of success, for securing a wire to a substrate such as a ceiling.
Typical methods involve fastening a clip to a ceiling with a suitable fastener such as a pin. The clip usually has a hole or a hook for attaching the wire.
The wire may be attached either before or after the clip is fastened to the ceiling, for example, by forming a wire loop through the hole or the hook and wrapping the wire around itself several times. An example of looping and wrapping a wire is the Viper Overhead Fastening System commercialized by Ramset Powder Fastening Systems.
Looping and wrapping a wire is a cumbersome process. Wire wrapping machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,573 to Shepard and U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,812 to Bigelow, but the machines are expensive and time-consuming to use.
In the typical looping-and-wrapping operation, the part of the clip that includes the hole or the hook is bent away from the ceiling in order to provide clearance for the wire.
For example, the Viper Overhead Fastening System uses an angled clip having a hole through which the wire is inserted. Angled clips have disadvantages both in manufacturing, which requires a bending step, and in use, because the center-to-center distance between fastener and wire can be undesirably large, thereby placing stress on the clip, in addition to the disadvantages mentioned above relating to mounting of ceiling clips and use of looping-and-wrapping methods.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,715 to Rancourt, wire is looped and secured to a screw, without using a clip as an intermediate, but cumbersome wrapping is required and may interfere with driving of the screw.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,053 to Rodgers discloses that wire may be attached by crimping or soldering, but these complicated, time-consuming methods are unlikely to provide uniform results.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,754 to Gaenslen, a xe2x80x9cwire-like support memberxe2x80x9d is threaded through a downwardly depending multiple-slotted part of a right-angled ceiling clip, raising questions about the manufacture, use and results of the system disclosed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,465 to Logue, a long threaded rod is attached to a threaded ceiling clip, and yet another member is attached to the bottom of the rod, creating a complicated, expensive and awkward assembly.
What is needed is an improved method for securing a wire to a substrate that overcomes the above shortcomings. The method should be relatively easy, rapid, inexpensive and secure. It should allow use of conventional wire while avoiding right-angled and other substantial-angled clips and minimizing center-to-center distances between wire and fastener.
In accordance with the present invention, a fast and efficient method of securing a wire comprises the steps of providing a member having a substrate side and a wire hole, feeding a wire into the wire hole, heading the wire to form a wire head, positioning the wire head adjacent to the substrate side, and fastening the member to a substrate. The inventive use of a head to secure a wire to a member makes this method fast, precise, and efficient, and also surprisingly allows the member to be a generally flat clip whose advantages are discussed below. In one embodiment, the member is a generally flat clip, has a wire head recess in the substrate side surrounding the wire hole and the positioning step positions the wire head in the wire head recess.
In another aspect of the invention, a fast and efficient method of securing a wire having an end to a ceiling comprises in order the steps of providing a clip having a ceiling side, a fastener hole, a wire hole, and a wire head recess in the ceiling side surrounding the wire hole, feeding the end of the wire into the wire hole, substantially simultaneously cutting and heading the wire to form a wire head on the ceiling side of the clip, positioning the wire head in the wire head recess of the clip, and fastening the clip to the ceiling by driving a fastener through the fastener hole into the ceiling.